Vigor of Twelve is a play off of the fact that Jesus had twelve disciples. It is a name that helps stress an importance on discipleship. This blog is specifically geared for younger people and mature Christians who don't mind a fresh, bold, and blunt approach to faith. Comments welcome, let's begin the discussion!

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Saturday, April 9, 2016

Luke 6:27-28

But I say to you – the ones who are listening, “Love the
ones hostile to you. Do good to the ones
who hate you. Bless the ones who curse
you. Pray for the ones who abuse you.

Thoughts
for Today

First Thought:

I think that it is really important to notice that Jesus
specifically clarifies the recipients of this message. Jesus is talking to the ones who are
listening. One a simple level, this has
to be true. How could Jesus talk to
anyone unless they are listening to Him?
However, I don’t think Jesus’ point is quite so simple. Jesus is making a point about our attitude
towards Him. We need to be actively
listening. Jesus can speak to us all day
long, but we need to be listening. How
will we actually hear what Jesus says unless we pay attention to what He is
saying?

What does it fell like t you to listen to God? How is this different than listening to each
other? Why is it important to not just
hear, but to listen?

Second Thought:

Jesus gives us another chiasm here in this teaching. Jesus starts and ends with those who act
against us. Jesus speaks about those who
are hostile to us and those who abuse us.
You will notice something within this teaching. Regarding those who are physically aggressive
towards us, Jesus tells us to respond with emotion. We are to love and pray for these
people. Jesus doesn’t say that we have
to be in their presence. Jesus doesn’t
say that we have to be a doormat under their presence. Jesus says that we must think of them with
love and pray for them. In other words,
Jesus is concerned about our attitude under persecution. Jesus wants us to return persecution with
good will, not ill will. Remember, even
Jesus on the cross asked for the Father to forgive those who crucified Him.

Is it easy or difficult for you to love those who would
treat you poorly? How do you usually
respond to persecution?

Third Thought:

In the middle of these teachings about
those who would intend physical harm, Jesus gives us two teachings about those
who harbor malice against us in their hearts.
In one case, these people are less dangerous. They don’t want to physically hurt us. However, in a different way of thinking about
it these people are far more dangerous to us.
While they may not intend to harm us, they do desire to see us fall,
stumble, be humiliated, find failure, and many other things. Such people might intentionally work to
thwart our actions – even those actions we do for God! This is why Jesus tells us that a physical
response from us is mandated. We can’t
just simply love them from afar in our heart.
We must actively find ways to change their attitude towards us. We must do good to those who hate us. We must speak blessings upon those who curse
us. Only y actively demonstrating love
can we change the heart that desire ill towards us.

How good are you at showing love to
those who desire to thwart you or make your life more difficult? Why is it important for us to actively work
towards those who hate us?